India would not have been partitioned if Netaji was there: NSA Ajit Doval

India would not have been partitioned had Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose been alive, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Saturday delivering the 1st Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Memorial lecture in Delhi organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Netaji showed audacity at various stages of his life and had the audacity to challenge Gandhi, Doval said in his lecture. “But Gandhi was at the prime of his political career. Then he resigned and when he came out of the Congress he started his struggle afresh,” Doval said.

“I am not saying good or bad but there are very few parallels in the Indian history and the world history of people who had the audacity to sail against the current — and not an easy current,” Doval said adding that Netaji was a lonely person, had no country supporting him except Japan.

“The idea that came to his mind was ‘I will fight the British, I will not beg for freedom. It is my right and I will have to get it’. India would not have been partitioned in Subhas Bose was there. Jinnah said I can accept only one leader and that is Subhas Bose,” Doval said.

“A question often comes to mind. In life whether our efforts matter or results matter. Nobody can doubt the great efforts of Subhas Bose, Gandhi was an admirer. But people often judge you through the results that you produce.

So was the entire effort of Subhas Bose in vain?” Doval said.

“Even after his death – I don’t know when — we are afraid of the ideas of the nationalism that he has created and many Indians would have gone in that path,” the NSA said. History has been unkind to Netaji, the NSA said adding, “I feel very happy that Prime Minister Modi has been keen to resurrect it.”